Weight Weenies

Garmin's new toy. I got mine on order. Jun 12th.

Maybe the new 840 will have a display too.

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DCRainmaker already reviewed it:
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2022/05/gar ... eview.html

Has anyone got one yet?
I am sold on it I think.
Currently running a varia rtl515 and love the added awareness/safety it gives on my light traffic density but high speed roads.
The addition of a camera is a win.
Another review here;
https://www.velonews.com/gear/tech-wear ... ia-rct715/
I am on another forum and a couple of positive reports on there.

I have one and like it. I do not go back through the camera footage after each ride unless I know something interesting happened which thankfully is not often. The footage is clear for not being stabilized, not social media good, but for identying a vehicle it will work. However to that point, in my state there are no forwardfacing license plates, so you are left with only a description of the vehicle. So not super useful but the radar and light work as well as they always have. I just figure the camera is one more helpful factor if something were to happen not the sole dispositive piece of evidence.

I got mine fairly quick and I have only looked at the camera footage once. Just to see what everyone was concerned about. Yeah, it is difficult to thumb through but I don't get the reason for all this social media stuff so I really could careless. I will leave that up to the police dept, lawyers, and insurance company.

I did mention it to my wife I got a camera so if there is any problems, get someone to look at it.

Thanks. Yeah the footage is only for reporting dangerous behaviour or if the worst happens.
Not interested in social media use, so that sounds good enough. The radar and light are more important to me but the addition of a camera is useful.

I started to think about RCT715, but is there some slick seatpost mount for SL7 ? The whole machinery looks really gigantic on the bike.

It is much thicker than the original unit. My friend tells me it's hidious. I certainly don't see it so I really do not care.

With the different mounting hardware, I suspect it will only be time that someone comes up with something that does not need rubber bands to hold it in place. I certainly would like to see something different.

For comparison, the new Varia RCT715 measures 42mm x 106mm x 30mm and weighs 146g. The RTL515 is 39mm x 98mm x 20mm with a weight of 70g

Sounds like 10mm wider.
As already said, I won't see it, so not an issue really.
A lot better than running my varia rtl515 and a seperate camera.

the issue is the big knob in the back. Someone has to print something to deal with that and it's not going to be small.

Are there any real life experience right now? I am considering the purchase.

UPDATE: Detailed watching of DC Rainmaker's review made me not consider that anymore.

req110 wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 23, 2022 11:07 am

Are there any real life experience right now? I am considering the purchase.

UPDATE: Detailed watching of DC Rainmaker's review made me not consider that anymore.

if you expect action cam (gopro) then you will be dissappointed. If you want incident capture, which is what I wanted then you will be ok.

req110 wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 10, 2022 7:39 am

I started to think about RCT715, but is there some slick seatpost mount for SL7 ? The whole machinery looks really gigantic on the bike.

I already have a mount adapter modeled for the SL7 just not for sale yet. It does require that the original bulky Garmin mount be taken apart and the mounting section be reused. Super simple, just two small bolts with a T9 Torx driver.

DC Rainmaker is really off the mark on his review. It's not a social media camera and that is not the main purpose of it. I know the marketing team had to hype it up so I suspect that is why there is some mention of it in the sales hype. I have tried the app and yes, it's cumbersome but as I have mentioned in the past, the lawyers and insurance will figure out how to use it. My wife will appreciate what information is stores. The only thing I am looking at after a ride is the data, not the video.

Mine acts just like my older first gen RTL510. Someone mentioned that it picks up riders if they are coming up from behind. I would agree with this. It seems to be a bit more sensitive than my older one. The mount is certainly heavy duty and I suspect someone will come up with something more to my liking later. I would prefer to get this off my seat post and on the saddle where it belongs.

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Butcher wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 23, 2022 4:58 pm

DC Rainmaker is really off the mark on his review. It's not a social media camera and that is not the main purpose of it. I know the marketing team had to hype it up so I suspect that is why there is some mention of it in the sales hype. I have tried the app and yes, it's cumbersome but as I have mentioned in the past, the lawyers and insurance will figure out how to use it. My wife will appreciate what information is stores. The only thing I am looking at after a ride is the data, not the video.

Mine acts just like my older first gen RTL510. Someone mentioned that it picks up riders if they are coming up from behind. I would agree with this. It seems to be a bit more sensitive than my older one. The mount is certainly heavy duty and I suspect someone will come up with something more to my liking later. I would prefer to get this off my seat post and on the saddle where it belongs.

@Butcher
When I got the mount for the 715 and noticed how bulky and cumbersome it is I had to do something to make it more palatable for cyclists that want to mount it on saddles or on the Trek seap post light mount. I already have mount adapters for Bontrager Blender, Specialized SWAT, Shimano Pro and the Trek thing that snaps onto the seat clamp. I call it a mount adapter because it is too difficult and not cost effective to model Garmin's mounting mechanism and you take the two screws from the back of the mount and then attach it to the adapter (uses a T9 Torx headed bolt). Then the Garmin mount become a direct mount to those saddles. If you look at the 3D printed mounts thread I already posted pictures of a real world RCT715 on the Trek Seat Post Light Mount. I have a 27.2 mm mount adapter coming and I can post pictures of it too.

So you really don't need to wait for Saddle mounts to show up. They will have to come from 3rd parties as Garmin will never make one. I wouldn't hold my breathe for those 3rd parties to make the complete mount as the new 715 mount actually has moving parts.